The 2nd of February in History

February 2 is the 33rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 332 days remaining until the end of the year (since 2010 is not a leap year). In the course of history there has been interesting events that occurred on the 2nd of February.

This is a list of events that have occurred on this day in the past:

Spaniard Pedro de Mendoza founded Buenos Aires in Argentina on this day in 1536.

New Amsterdam (later renamed The City of New York) was incorporated on this day in 1653.

Alexander Selkirk was rescued after being shipwrecked on a desert island on this day in 1709. This event inspired Daniel Defoe to write the book Robinson Crusoe.

The United States Supreme Court convened for the first time on this day in 1790.

The world’s first electric streetlight was installed on this day in 1880 in Wabash, Indiana in the United States.

Queen Victoria’s funeral was held on this day in 1901 in Britain.

Grand Central Terminal (also known as Grand Central Station) was opened in New York City on this day in 1913.

Ulysses by Irish Writer and Poet James Joyce was published on the 2nd of February 1922.

Leonarde Keeler tested the world’s first polygraph machine on this day in 1935.

The Battle of Stalingrad in World War II ended on this day in 1943.

Idi Amin replaced President Milton Obote as leader of Uganda on this day in 1971.

The F-16 Fighting Falcon flew for the first time on the 2nd of February 1974.

“Late Night with David Letterman” premiered on the NBC television network in the United States on this day in 1983.

The last Soviet Union armored column left Kabul, Afghanistan on this day in 1989.

On this day in 1989 Sky Television was launched in the United Kingdom.

F.W. de Klerk allowed the African National Congress to function legally and promised to release Nelson Mandela on this day in 1990 in South Africa.

Many other events occurred on this day. I’m sure that we’ve left out a few. If you have any other events to ad, please comment on this post.